Markets live: ASX tumbles as Middle East war intensifies, Wall Street stages dramatic turnaround

38m agoTue 3 Mar 2026 at 11:16pmMarket snapshotASX 200: -1.4% to 8,943 pointsAustralian dollar: +0.2% to 70.4 US centsWall Street: Dow Jones (-0.8%), S&P 500 (-0.9%), Nasdaq (-1%)Europe: Stoxx 600 (-3.1%), DAX (-3.4%), FTSE (-2.8%)Gold: +0.7% to $US5,122/ounce
Silver: +0.5% to $US82.44/ounceOil (Brent crude): +5.4% to $US81.96/barrelIron ore: -1.1% to $US98.20/tonneBitcoin: +0.8% to $US68,587

 Price current around 10:15am AEDT

Live updates on the major ASX indices:

10m agoTue 3 Mar 2026 at 11:44pmGold mining stocks plummet as ASX losses worsen

We’re almost one hour into the trading day, and the share market’s losses have worsened.

The ASX 200 is now down 1.7% to 8,920 points.

Another sign of negativity on the markets is that only 37 out of 200 stocks are actually trading higher. So most of them are down, by far!

Today’s best performers include healthcare stock Mesoblast, fast food chain Guzman & Gomez and companies in the tech sector, including Life360, Xero and Megaport.

On the flip side, many of today’s worst performers are gold miners like Westgold, Newmont, Evolution Mining, Northern Star and Resolute Mining.

That was after the price of gold dropped 4% overnight.

It’s likely a bit of profit-taking as the precious metal’s spot price was hovering close to record levels.

Gold is still super-expensive, though, trading above $US5,120 per troy ounce.

In Australian dollars, that’s $7,275 for just 31 grams (around the weight of a “fun-sized” chocolate bar).

Many of today’s worst performing stocks are gold miners. (LSEG)27m agoTue 3 Mar 2026 at 11:27pmMaterials and healthcare sectors drive ASX 200 sharply lower

To highlight how gloomy the Australian share market looks, consider how few sectors are trading higher.

Just two — healthcare and technology (though just barely).

Most sectors are down, with materials (-3.6%) and energy (-1.4%) among the worst performers.

That is being driven by a sharp fall in the value of mining and oil  and gas stocks this morning.

Almost every sector on the ASX is down today. (LSEG)40m agoTue 3 Mar 2026 at 11:14pmASX tumbles 1.4pc in opening trade

The Australian share market is recording fairly significant losses in the first 15 minutes of trading.

The ASX 200 has dropped 1.4% to 8,948 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index is down by a similar percentage to 9,165 points.

I’ll have more updates for you shortly!

52m agoTue 3 Mar 2026 at 11:03pm

Mark Carney in Sydney to witness signing of Australia-Canada superannuation agreement

I’m down here at The Rocks in Sydney, where the Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is witnessing the signing of a partnership between Australian industry superannuation funds and Canadian pension funds.

IFM Investors chair Cath Bowtell says the two pension systems share many features, including investments in critical infrastructure and sophisticated, large private investors.

Canada’s Mark Carney (centre) with pension fund executives. (Stephanie Chalmers)1h agoTue 3 Mar 2026 at 10:54pmCanadian PM announces Australian-Canadian superannuation partnership

The largest Australian industry super funds are signing a deal with their Canadian counterparts, pledging to boost investment in each other’s countries.

AustralianSuper, Australian Retirement Trust, Aware, CareSuper, CBUS, HESTA, Hostplus and Rest are the Australian signatories, alongside their asset manager IFM Investors.

Super fund executives, including CBUS chair Wayne Swan, are present at the announcement in Sydney being made by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Canada’s finance minister, Francois-Philippe Champagne, and Australian Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney (centre) in Sydney. (Stephanie Chalmers)

“As part of the landmark initiative, Australian and Canadian pension funds will cooperate to unlock greater pension capital investment in both countries,” the funds said in a statement.

Canada has the world’s second-largest pension system, while Australia’s ranks fourth.

The memorandum of understanding between the Australian industry super funds and Canadian pension funds is aimed at “facilitating dialogue with governments on policy barriers and associated solutions to improve the business environment for investment in each jurisdiction” and unlocking “greater long-term capital for private investment”.

1h agoTue 3 Mar 2026 at 10:50pmAI will create new jobs if we use it to improve productivity, says NEXTDC’s chief executive

In the past few weeks, shares of software companies worldwide  (including Adobe, Atlassian and ServiceNow) have been plummeting.

It’s mainly being driven by fears artificial intelligence (AI) is now so advanced that it could ultimately make those companies’ products obsolete.

That has also led to massive job losses in the tech sector, with WiseTech Global and Block announcing last week they’ll sack thousands of workers.

But the chief executive of data centre company NEXTDC, Craig Scroggie, says AI could create new jobs.

He sat down with The Business host Kirsten Aiken to discuss the future of AI, raising capital for data centres, and the enormous amount of energy and water required to power them.

Loading…1h agoTue 3 Mar 2026 at 10:28pmABS to provide GDP update on Australian economy

A lot of today’s market action will be driven by what’s happening with Iran and the wider Middle East — and any headlines of further escalation.

In local news, we’ll also get an update from the Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on how the Australian economy performed in the last three months of 2025, as measured by GDP (gross domestic product).

So it’s backward-looking data which predates the war. Still, it will be useful as a snapshot of how things looked at a particular point in time.

Australia’s economy is likely to have grown 0.6% in the December quarter, according to economists polled by Reuters, which would take the annual growth rate to 2.2%.

This would be higher than the 0.4% growth recorded in the September quarter (and the 2.1% increase in the year to September).

The GDP figures will be released at 11:30am AEDT, and we’ll let you know the result as soon as it’s out!

1h agoTue 3 Mar 2026 at 10:09pmMiddle East war could lead to higher inflation, complicating the RBA’s decision on whether to lift interest rates

With Iran attacking other nations’ energy infrastructure, it’s now clear the Middle East war has the potential for far-reaching global consequences.

While speaking at a business summit in Sydney, Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock addressed concerns the conflict could lead to more expensive petrol, higher inflation and another interest rate hike.

Meanwhile, Iran has threatened to attack ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz, and one of the world’s biggest gas exporters, Qatar, has shut down LNG production after strikes against two facilities.

For more, here’s a handy summary by David Taylor:

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1h agoTue 3 Mar 2026 at 9:55pm

Markets recap: Alan Kohler’s finance report

In case you missed it, here’s Alan Kohler’s finance report from last night’s 7pm News bulletin.

Among other things, Alan discussed European gas prices, which surged 54% at one stage before settling 39% higher.

That was after the world’s largest gas plant, in Qatar, had to shut down after it was struck by an Iranian drone.

He also has some interesting graphs from the Reserve Bank showing how Australia’s economy is faring compared with other countries.

Loading…2h agoTue 3 Mar 2026 at 9:49pmEuropean markets suffer worst single-day drop since ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs

And before I forget, let’s take a look at European share markets, which were the hardest hit overnight:

The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed 3.1% lower (down 5% from its record high last Friday).
Spain’s finance-heavy benchmark IBEX plunged 4.6% to its lowest since mid-December.Germany’s export-heavy DAX dropped 3.4% to a three-month low.
Britain’s FTSE fell 2.8%.

Many of these European stock markets recorded their sharpest one-day falls since April, when Donald Trump unveiled his “Liberation Day” tariffs against most of the world’s nations.

“Any ceasefire for now looks like a remote possibility as Iran appears content with damaging Western interests in the Middle East … This is driving markets lower today as the threat of a protracted conflict becomes more realistic,” said Lindsay James, investment strategist at Quilter.

– with Reuters

2h agoTue 3 Mar 2026 at 9:36pmAussie dollar sinks to 70.36 US cents, down against major currencies

The Australian dollar isn’t doing so well this morning.

In fact, it often performs badly when there’s a “risk-off” mood across global markets, for instance, during the global financial crisis, COVID-19 pandemic, and now the US and Israel’s war with Iran (which is spreading across the Middle East).

As you can see in the chart below, it is down against many of the world’s major currencies.

It is trading at 70.36 US cents, after falling 0.8% against the greenback. But that’s mainly due to a rebound in the US dollar index.

However, it has risen against the Japanese yen and New Zealand dollar. In fact, the Aussie dollar still remains near its highest level in years against those two currencies.

And while they’re not currencies, there have also been sharp falls in the price of bitcoin and gold.

The Australian dollar is weaker against most currencies. (LSEG)2h agoTue 3 Mar 2026 at 9:25pmWall Street finishes trading lower — but it was a lot worse a few hours ago

It’s past 4pm in New York now, which means Wall Street has finished trading.

Investors are still feeling quite anxious, as you can see from these closing figures:

Dow Jones: -0.8% to 48,501 pointsS&P 500: -0.9% to 6,817 pointsNasdaq Composite: -1% to 22,517 points

It’s a huge improvement considering they were down by about 2.5% at their “peak pessimism” point — after Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz was closed and threatened to “burn any ship” trying to pass through.

That massive recovery happened after Donald Trump pledged the US Navy would escort tankers through the strait if necessary.

So that announcement provided a lot of reassurance, but clearly not enough given the US markets still finished lower.

And in case you need a refresher on why the strait is so important (and why blocking it will lead to higher oil prices and inflation), here’s a helpful explainer for you:

2h agoTue 3 Mar 2026 at 8:59pmTrump’s pledge to protect oil tankers in the Gulf sparks massive recovery on Wall Street

Wall Street is on track to end its day lower, but it could’ve been a lot worse!

At their worst point during the trading session, the Dow Jones was down as much as 2.6%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were down by up to 2.5% and 2.7%, respectively.

But things improved dramatically after US President Donald Trump made an announcement on his Truth Social account (as he often does).

Mr Trump said the US Navy is prepared to start escorting oil and gas tankers through the Strait of Hormuz in an attempt to counter rising energy prices resulting from the escalating war in the Middle East.

He also said the government would provide “at a very reasonable price” political risk insurance for vessels using the key shipping lane.

“No matter what, the United States will ensure the FREE FLOW of ENERGY to the WORLD,” the post stated. 

Donald Trump said the navy could begin escorting tankers “as soon as possible”.

US markets breathed a sigh of relief after the announcement.

That led to a massive turnaround as the Dow, S&P and Nasdaq cut their losses to 0.9%, 1% and 1.1%, respectively.

Not a great day for markets, but still better than it was hours ago!

You can read more about it in this article by my colleague David Taylor:

3h agoTue 3 Mar 2026 at 8:46pm

Market snapshotASX 200 (Tuesday close): -1.3% to 9,077 pointsASX futures: -1.1% to 8,937 pointsAustralian dollar: -0.7% to 70.45 US centsWall Street: Dow Jones (-0.5%), S&P 500 (-0.7%), Nasdaq (-0.8%)Europe: Stoxx 600 (-3.1%), DAX (-3.4%), FTSE (-2.8%)Gold: -3.9% to $US5,120/ounce
Silver: -7% to $US83.16/ounceOil (Brent crude): +2.7% to $US79.87/barrelIron ore: -1.1% to $US98.20/tonneBitcoin: -1.4% to $US68,481

 Price current around 7:30am AEDT

3h agoTue 3 Mar 2026 at 8:46pmGold and Aussie dollar tumble, while the ASX is set to fall sharply … again

Good morning, and welcome to the ABC’s finance blog! I’ll be guiding you through the latest market action for the next few hours.

At this stage, it looks like another messy day for the markets.

That’s reasonable considering the Middle East war is likely to drag on longer than the “four weeks” Donald Trump estimated, oil prices are surging, and inflation could rise as a consequence.

ASX futures are down 1.1% so far, which suggests the Australian share market is set to drop when trading opens in a few hours (adding to yesterday’s steep fall of 1.3%).

The Australian dollar isn’t feeling much love either, having slipped 0.6% to 70.48 US cents — mainly due to the US dollar rebounding on safe-haven demand.

Even gold is being sold off. Its spot price is down 3.8% to $US5,124 an ounce.

So there are not many places to hide as this war-driven market sell-down continues.

As the conflict widens, perhaps the best way to measure fear is the price of Brent crude, which jumped 3.2% to $US80.22 a barrel.

Since Friday, when the US and Iran were apparently making “significant progress” according to the mediator in their nuclear talks, the oil price has surged 10%.

That’s not such a big increase when you compare it with all the doomsday scenarios (i.e., oil soaring well above $US100 a barrel) that various market analysts had been predicting.

Anyway, grab a coffee, tea (or whatever you like drinking).

I’ll have more updates for you shortly!